

	Volume 3, No. 3	June/July/August 2002

Spotlight on .....

Raeann Dossett

Sometimes people are not familiar with analyzing all the information they come across. How does a student at Parkland become information literate? That’s when Raeann Dossett steps in. Raeann is Parkland Library's Instruction and Outreach Librarian. She coordinates activities in the Library related to teaching students information skills and concepts: how to search the Library’s research databases, and how those databases are different from “the Web.” These, and a whole array of other topics, are part of the larger concept of Information Literacy, which Raeann describes as "the ability to locate, evaluate, and use information."

Raeann Dossett

An Illinois native, Raeann was born in Wood River, the starting point for the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and she grew up in Bethalto, Illinois. As a little girl, she can remember hearing the horns on the river barges, and she still dreams of the Mississippi here in landlocked central Illinois. She has two older brothers, Bob and Scott. Her parents, Bob and Nyla, are retired. The family took lots of camping trips, and her parents are now full-time “R.V.ers” who split their time between the Midwest and the Sonoran Desert of the Southwest.

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Raeann decided to become a librarian at the tender age of 19. She received her undergraduate degree from Illinois State University and continued on to graduate school and received her Master’s degree in Library Science from the University of Illinois in 1989. Raeann’s past experiences include working in the Government Documents and Reference Libraries at the U. of I. Her connection with Parkland began as a substitute Reference Librarian. About Parkland, Raeann comments that she feels “a part of the institutional commitment at Parkland to see that students succeed” whether their goal is to get a job, continue on to a four-year school, or to take courses for personal enrichment. Raeann enjoys the “feeling of community” at Parkland.

When away from her work at Parkland, Raeann appreciates time with her family. She’s also devoted to a house full of animals -- between herself and her housemate, the permanent household includes six cats and one dog. Recent temporary dwellers included a young raccoon family in the chimney. Raeann couldn’t bring herself to throw them out in the cold, but was grateful when they left of their own accord! Raeann is active in several community organizations. She takes great pleasure in singing with Amasong, Champaign-Urbana’s premier Lesbian/Feminist Chorus, and volunteering at the Common Ground Food Co-Op. She is also a volunteer at WEFT, the Community Radio Station for East Central Illinois, and is one of a group of women who produce the show “Womyn Making Waves” (Sundays 1-3 p.m.).

Raeann also loves to travel. She recently took her seventh trip to New Orleans. Over New Years, she spent eleven days in Florida, snorkeling in the Keys and in some of Florida’s many inland springs. She also swam with the manatees. In 2003, the Bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, she with her brother Scott and other friends and family, will canoe the Missouri River in Montana from Fort Benton to the Russell National Wildlife Refuge (about 140 miles!). Before they drive out to Montana, they’ll make a stop over in Wood River, Illinois, just for old times’ sake.

In This Issue

Remodeling

... Page 1

Raeann Dossett

... Page 2

Vacation Reading

... Page 3

Vacation Reading - Part 2

... Page 4

Suggestion Box

... Page 5

Out and About